Traffic levels increased and the
line was quadrupled. When the line was quadrupled the tunnel at Arkleston,
to the east of paisley, was opened out into a cutting. The line was converted
back to double track when it was electrified. There are now capacity problems
on the line and some or all may be quadrupled again.

This line runs west from Glasgow to Paisley.
It starts by running through the south of Glasgow in the Shields Road area (lots
of industrial estates) to Ibrox (housing and football stadium) and on to Cardonald
(more housing) and Hillington (industrial estates) before crossing a short area
of countryside and entering Paisley. The line is shaddowed and regularly crossed
by the M8 motorway.

This is the principal station
in Paisley. It has four platforms and is the meeting point of two lines; the
Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock
Railway and the Glasgow,
Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway. These approach from the north west
and south west respectively before running east to Glasgow. The photograph shows
the under-pass between the platforms. A new passenger lift has been installed
at the station.

This goods yard was located to the north of
the line and to the east of Gilmour Street station. IT was located in the 'V'
of the Arkleston Junction and was one of the principal goods yards in Paisley.
Today a single siding remains for a track maintenance machine. This was also the site of the short lived Greenlaw Junction.

This was the east facing junction with the
former Paisley
and Renfrew Railway. This line ran south from Renfrew to the junction with
the main line. The lines of the branch ran parallel with the main line until
nearly as far as the former Arkleston tunnel before joining the main line. The
original junction was located further west closer to Greenlaw Goods Yard. The
branch line and junction were lifted around 1986/1987 and a large area of former
trackbed now exists to the north of the existing main lines.

To the south here the Paisley
and Barrhead District Railway approached the main line from the south. As
this line approach it split the intention being that there be a west facing
and east facing junction with that line here. The connection were never put
in - the approaching tracks stopped just short of the main line.

To the south of the main line today there are
some long sidings used by track maintenance trains. To the east of the site
was the former Arkleston tunnel, opened out when the line was quadrupled.

This two platform station was opened to serve
the Hillington Industrial estate. The platforms were built on either side of
the quadruple track. The two central tracks were lifted during electrification.

This two platform station was opened to serve
the Hillington Industrial estate. The platforms were built on either side of
the quadruple track. The two central tracks were lifted during electrification.

This is an east facing junction where the former
Glasgow
and Renfrew District Railway joined the line from the north west. A short
section of this line remains open to freight today to serve the Deanside Transit
depot.

This is a two platform station. The platforms
were built on either side of the quadruple track. The two central tracks were
lifted during electrification. To the west of the station can be seen Cardonald
Junction.

This former west facing junction was for the
Govan Branch. The formation
is barely visible today. (Well now - is this an imaginary junction on my part and really just the trackbed of the line to the council rubbish site?)

To the east of Shields Road station, on the
east side of a large road bridge over the site, are the electrified Smithy Lye
sidings. These somewhat decrepit sidings have been used in recent years for
storing redundant stock, in particular after the electrification of the railway
to Ayr the old Diesel Multiple Units were stored here.

Here a connection ran from an east facing junction
with the City
of Glasgow Union Railway, passed under the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
and on to a north facing junction with the General
Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Railway line to General Terminus. Little remains
of this alignment. It was over this connection that the North British Railway
was to gain access to General Terminus despite the fact it did not own any lines
to this area - although it was a part owner of the Princes
Dock Joint Railway which ran from General Terminus to Princes Dock and on
to the Govan Branch
in Govan.

Not far from the site of West Street
is the now closed and largely lifted Salkeld Street Parcels depot shown above.
The photograph was taken from a train heading towards Glasgow Central and coming
from Paisley. Some of the yard here is now in use as a maintenance depot.